kraken

Forms

kraken (past tense kraakte, past participle gekraakt)^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch craken, inherited from Old Dutch *krakon, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn, inherited from Proto-Germanic *krakōn- (“to make a cracking sound”), an imitative word.^[4][1] The same word is Middle Low German krāken, Old High German chrahhōn (modern German krachen), West Frisian kreakje and Old English cracian, whence English crack.^[4][5] With metathesis of /r/ there is also cearcian (“to creak, gnash”), whence English chark.^[5][6]

Similar words are found in other Indo-European languages, among them Lithuanian girgždėti (“to creak, grate”) and Old Irish grág (“croaking”), but the EWN thinks a common origin unlikely.^[4][5][6] Franck–Van Wijk and De Vries derived them from an imitative base Proto-Indo-European *gereg-, perhaps an extension of the root of kermen.^[6][5] French craquer was probably taken from Germanic.^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch craken is first recorded in 1287 in West Flanders, in a passage on the wolf: when it steals sheep and its foot makes a twig craken, it bites its own foot as punishment.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch also used craken of glass and metals that snapped or burst, of breaking wind, and of people making noise or chattering.^[8] The saying krakende wagens lopen het langst, “creaking carts last longest”, said of sickly people who live long, is old: Plantijn already has een crakende kerre gaet wel verre.^[9]

In thieves' cant kraken meant “to burgle”, first in a 1906 word list.^[10] The sense “to occupy an empty building” dates from 1969.^[11][3] It is a back-formation from kraker “squatter”, a sense that arose when squatting drew wide publicity in the Netherlands in the 1960s.^[4] A code was gekraakt by 1976,^[4] and breaking into computer files was called kraken in the 1980s.^[12] The chemical sense “to split heavy oils” is from English crack.^[5] Surinamese Dutch kraken voor means “to support a team”.^[13][1]

The verb was borrowed into Papiamentu as krak, older kraak, and into Negerhollands as kraek.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 1287 – Middle Dutch craken is first recorded, in West Flanders.^[7][15]
• 1906 – Kraken “to burgle” appears in a list of thieves' cant.^[10]
• 1969 – Kraken “to squat a building” comes into use.^[11]
• 1970 – Kraker “squatter” is recorded.^[4]
• 1976 – Een code kraken “to crack a code” is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To creak, to make a sharp, irregular sound.^[16][1]
2. (transitive) To break with a cracking sound: noten kraken, to crack nuts.^[16]
3. (transitive) To squat: to move into a building without the owner's permission and use it.^[16][1]
4. (transitive) To break into or open, to crack a code.^[16][1]
5. (transitive) To criticise harshly.^[16]
6. (chemistry) To split complex organic compounds into simpler ones, or of molecules in crude oil, to split when heated.^[16]
7. (Suriname) kraken voor: to support a team or player.^[13][1]

Word family

• kraakbeen
• krakeling
• afkraken
• gekraak
• kraak
• kraakhelder
• kraakijs
• kraakpand
• kraker
• krakerig
• notenkraker
• krakelen
• kraakzindelijk

Related words

• krak
• English crack

Usage notes

Kraken is also the name of a legendary sea monster with huge tentacles, a separate word taken from Norwegian, also spelled kraak.^[1][17] Vercoullie traced it to Swedish and Danish krake.^[18] A long-obsolete verb kraken “to dawn”, said of the day, is of uncertain origin.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
3. ^ a b Reinsma, R. (1984), Neologismen, Utrecht: Spectrum
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
5. ^ a b c d e Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ a b Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
8. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
10. ^ a b Sanders, Ewoud (2009), Van Dale Modern Bargoens woordenboek, Utrecht: Van Dale
11. ^ a b Reinsma, R. (1975), Signalement van nieuwe woorden, Amsterdam: Elsevier
12. ^ Coster, Marc de (1999), Woordenboek van neologismen: 25 jaar taalaanwinsten, Amsterdam: Contact
13. ^ a b Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
15. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
16. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
17. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
18. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut